Women in Tourism Empowerment Programme (WITEP)

Objectives

The next phase of UNWTO’s work on gender and tourism is the Women in Tourism Empowerment Programme (WITEP). WITEP will set a precedent for establishing tourism as a tool for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment, using gender analysis and gender training to tackle inequality and gender-based discrimination in the tourism industry.

The overall goal of the project is to promote women’s economic empowerment in tourism through partnerships with hotel chains and other stakeholders. This will involve improving employment/entrepreneurship opportunities for women by facilitating their access to jobs and/or participation in supply-chains, and by creating possibilities for career advancement.

Main Components

WITEP has four main components:

Employment Skills

Supply Chain

Career Advancement

Gender Awareness

The pilot implementation phase of WITEP is currently being designed and UNWTO’s Ethics and Social Responsibility Programme is in negotiation with a series of potential partners from the public and private sector.